


Prophecy

by kuro1neko2kun



Series: Angst Challenge [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Angst, Challenge fic, M/M, Prophecy, Season 1 Spoilers, season 2 guesses, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-01
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-08-12 07:49:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7926604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro1neko2kun/pseuds/kuro1neko2kun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Magnus isn't entirely certain it is a prophecy... at first.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prophecy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MirellaPryce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MirellaPryce/gifts).



They were having tea when it happened.

Okay, so maybe what they were actually drinking was whiskey, because that was one of Dot's favourites, but it was technically tea time. In England. Which meant ten in the morning in New York, but who was keeping track?

Anyways, they were having "tea" when Dot suddenly stiffened, eyes glazing over until all he could see was white, glass crashing to the floor. Magnus had never seen anything like it.

"Dot?" He tried, hesitantly reaching towards her.

She shuddered in response, unseeing eyes snapping to him and looking straight through him. Magnus recoiled, retracting his reaching hand.

"Dot, what's going on? If you're pulling some kind of prank…"

Dot opened her mouth then and, in a solemn tone that was completely unlike her, began to speak.

**"You will soon find someone who complements you, protector and yet in need of protection. They will unlock something in you. But not all will be as it seems. Old enemies will make new moves. Ultimately, blood will call for blood. Loss and sacrifice are the only way, and the price is always more than you can pay. Remember that if something is precious, you must let it go."**

As soon as she'd finished, she slumped back in her chair, eyes rolling back into her head.

Magnus was pulled into action when she began to lean to one side, snapping and replacing the barstool she'd been sitting in with a cushioned armchair. A wave of his hand cleared the shattered glass from the floor, just in time as Dot came back to herself.

Groaning, she shifted in the chair and brought a hand to her head, opening her eyes after a moment to look around at their surroundings with confusion.

"W-what happened?" Dot blinked at him.

"You don't remember?" Magnus frowned, leaning forwards as his fingers tightened around his own glass.

"Not a thing. How'd I end up in this?" Shaking her head, Dot patted the arm of her chair to indicate what she meant.

"You looked like you might need it." Shrugging, Magnus finished the dregs of whiskey in his glass and set it down with a thump. "You really don't remember what you said?"

"Did I say something?" Dot shook her head as though to clear away the cobwebs.

"Yea, you did." Magnus went on to repeat her words, only to have her shake her head.

"I can't make heads or tails of it. If it's important, it'll clear itself up eventually, if it's not, it won't. No point worrying over it for now." She stood, concentrating for a second to summon her coat to her, and waved her fingers at him. "I'd best be going though. I promised Jocelyn I'd mind the shop today."

Magnus nodded, waving slightly as she left. Maybe the words wouldn't mean anything in the long run but… They'd sounded a little too much like a prophesy for him to be comfortable forgetting them. Then again, even if it was a prophesy, he hadn't a clue who it was talking about. He sighed, an idle twirl of his fingers banishing his used glass.

He'd remember the words, but for the moment, he had a business to run. Being the High Warlock of Brooklyn wasn't all fun and games, after all.

 

* * *

 

It wasn't until Alec was leaving, the night after he'd healed Clarissa's werewolf friend, that Magnus remembered the words.

**…unlock something in you…**

The words he'd spoken to Alec the night before, almost word for word.

A shiver ran down his spine. It…couldn't be. Right? There was no way. It was just a coincidence. Or something. Dot couldn't have been talking about Alec.

Besides, Alec was a Shadowhunter. Even if it was maybe more than a coincidence, Alec was unlikely to differ from his parents that much. And, as Magnus had more than a passing acquaintance with Maryse and Robert Lightwood, he knew what sorts of things they'd likely been telling their children about downworlders.

He dismissed the memory of Dot's prophecy.

 

* * *

 

 

When he hears about Clarissa's mundane friend, he can't deny the similarities anymore. Even if Raphael was the one to turn him, Camille's blood had started the process. She hadn't acted so obviously for centuries.

**…Old enemies will make new moves…**

Magnus shuddered at the thought of having Camille as a sire, and took a swig of whiskey right out of the bottle. His name had started with an s, right? Sibyl? Sylvester? Santiago? No wait, that last one was Raphael's last name. Ah well.

Glancing at the autopsy file from the werewolf den, he debated the merits of handing it over in person.

On one hand, Alec would be there. But on the other…Shadowhunters. Urgh. But if he timed it right he might be able to catch Alec training...

He banished the bottle he'd been working through and got up. If he was going to deal with snooty Shadowhunters, he could at least freshen up a little. Maybe fix up his eyeliner, add a little more glitter.

Who knew, it might be the day he finally gave one of those uptight pricks a heart attack when they figured out the glitter would never leave.

 

* * *

 

That…was not quite what he'd meant. Although perhaps it explained Alec's attitude towards him when he'd offered healing for the nasty gash on his arm. It had…stung. He'd thought they'd been getting somewhere and then suddenly he was getting the coldest of cold shoulder treatments. Seeing Meliorn had been interesting though. Hopefully the Clave wasn't pulling anything underhanded on him. They weren't friends, but anything that happened to the Seelie did tend to radiate outward. Ah well.

Isabelle, thankfully, worked mostly in silence, once she'd made her point. Magnus triggered another spell to scan for magical materials, careful to keep his eyes away from the incision she was making on the corpse's chest. Just because he could stomach looking at dead bodies didn't mean he was interested in seeing the insides.

But really, he'd thought Alec had been interested, if not entirely receptive with an audience. They'd had drinks, even if they'd had to postpone an actual date. He'd seen Alec with no shirt on, and it was even more impressive than he'd expected. Really, those ragged shirts did nothing for his impressive physique. Maybe a tighter shirt… black, of course.

Magnus shook himself out of his thoughts as the spell finished running it's course. Alec was engaged now, it was hardly proper to be imagining licking the dip of his navel…

Stepping away from the examination table, Magnus shed the gloves, silently signalling Isabelle, who waved him away absently, engrossed in what looked like it might be a lung.

**…blood will call for blood…**

Was this it? Was this fate telling him that Alec should stick to his own kind? That even a loveless marriage was better than anything he could have had with a warlock. He walked faster, as though he could escape his own thoughts.

 

* * *

 

**…Loss and sacrifice are the only way…**

When Alec offered him anything he wanted as the price for representing Isabelle, Magnus was so very tempted. The helpless look on Alec's face, his tense posture… But taking advantage of him like that wasn't fair. To either of them. So he played it off with a joke that made Alec blush, delighting in the redness that spread down from his cheeks and into the collar of his jacket.

He ultimately decided to ask for the priceless family heirlooms that Alec used in battle, only a little surprised when Alec accepted the deal without question. The desperate hope Magnus could detect in the Shadowhunter's enchanting eyes was a surprising reminder. Alec was young still, he had his whole life to live. If he offered an out, would Alec take it?

Perhaps not. But until the ceremony ended, there was still hope. The words of Dot's prophecy lingered at the back of his mind. It wasn't love, not yet. But it could be. Did that mean he should let Alec go now, save himself the pain?

No.

He had a chance for something with Alec. As long as his life had been, he'd quickly learned to seize every chance at happiness.

 

* * *

 

_Of course it would be Ragnor._ Magnus groaned, cradling one of his oldest friends closer, as though holding him tighter might bring him back. Maybe it would. Tears fell from his face onto cooling skin.

**… the price is always more than you can pay…**

The prophecy had been so cryptic at the end. If only he'd paid more attention. If he'd tried one more tracking spell. If he'd come alone instead of trying to distract himself with Clarissa and the blond prat's angst. Maybe there was something more he could have done, anything.

The strain of holding up Ragnor's body abruptly caught him back up to reality. Glancing at the clock, he noted in the back of his mind that he'd somehow lost an hour frozen over his friend's body.

Magnus forced his frozen fingers to uncurl, carefully lowering Ragnor's body to the ground, letting a swirl of magic close his unblinking eyes. No point in letting his death go to waste.

Tears pricked the back of his eyes. He blinked them away. Ragnor always was a bit of a pack rat.

 

* * *

 

 

Alec had _kissed him_. In the middle of his wedding ceremony. In full view of his parents and the representatives from the Clave.

Magnus almost felt giddy. But now really wasn't the time, as much as he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, there were other matters in need of his attention.

**…if something is precious…**

 

* * *

 

Things… had gone just a little to shit, honestly. Magnus glanced at his phone for the hundredth time, hoping against hope that Alec would reply this time, that he'd found the magic combination of words that would make everything okay. That would get Alec to understand that he wanted this. He wanted it so much. With the time and effort he'd put into getting Alec to consider him in the first place, he'd have thought…

Isabelle had kept him updated, though the news wasn't good. Apparently the desertion of his parabatai had really done a number on him. Alec was, according to his sister, throwing himself into training, leading more missions and more raids than could possibly be healthy. Magnus could only hope it was exhaustion keeping Alec from answering his texts.

Camille was free now, wandering around to do who knows what. Whatever was on her to do list after ' _ruin all of Magnus's relationships_ '. Jocelyn was awake, though she was being monopolized by her daughter and her…werewolf? He wondered if even they could label their relationship at this point.

He smiled darkly. At least he wasn't the only one dealing with a complicated relationship.

A hesitant knock on his door had him looking up. After the spell he'd done to revive Jocelyn, he'd cancelled all his appointments for the week, and his emergency calls were being rerouted to the High Warlock of Manhattan.

Who would be calling on him at- he glanced at his clock- two in the morning? Nothing had tripped his wards. So it must be someone he'd let in recently. Another knock, and Magnus scowled, getting up and tucking his phone in his pocket.

Another knock, and he wrenched open the door, revealing Alec with his fist up to knock one last time.

"…Alec?" Magnus blinked up at him, hand still on the door handle.

"Magnus-" Alec almost looked surprised. Had he expected Magnus to be elsewhere? Its not like he couldn't have texted ahead…

"Why are you here?"

"I…We were hoping you'd do a tracking spell for us again."

Not again.

"I just- I felt something over our bond and Clary thought maybe you could work the spell across…" Alec's eyes were hopeful, though his shoulders still slumped. Magnus wondered if he even realized what kind of torture this was.

To be rejected out of hand 'for his own good', and then to have Alec bringing up the person he'd been in love with for ages. Maybe…

**…you must let it go…**

Magnus closed his eyes, ignoring Alec's confused looks, and sighed deeply.

"This is the last time. If I can't find anything over this, stop trying. Blondie clearly doesn't want to be found, and there's only so much I can do. Yes, warlock magic is stronger, but even I have limits." Stepping back, he led Alec into the house, not bothering to look behind him to check if the boy was following.

"I-uh. Thank you." Alec looked as though maybe he was getting a clue, eyes searching Magnus's pained expression as he started to put together the potion he'd base the tracking spell off of.

"Don't thank me yet." Magnus poured the last of the turkey feathers into the cauldron and stirred until the mixture gained a purple hue. "Lie down on the couch and lift your shirt."

Grabbing a brush, Magnus approached the couch, pulling up a chair so he could concentrate on coating the area the rune covered in a thin layer of his potion.

"Trace the rune with your stele."

With no hesitation, Alec did so, concentrating on his task as Magnus muttered the incantation. There was a flash and-

Nothing.

Of course there wasn't going to be anything, just like the last time he'd tried. Not that he had any interest in finding the brat himself, but for Alec-

No. He'd already decided. He looked up, meeting Alec's eyes.

"Well?" Hopeful.

"Please don't come back." Magnus stood, trying his best to keep his emotions off his face.

Alec dropped his stele, sitting up almost desperately to catch Magnus's arm.

"Are you sure? Nothing? Not even a hint? I know they're on a boat…"

"I think it's best if we cease contact." Not that Alec had been trying anyways. Magnus summoned his memories of his other desperate clients over the years and shook Alec's hand off, the heat lingering even as he let go.

"What? Magnus, I-"

"You've already made your thoughts on a relationship with me clear. I can do no more to help you with your parabatai-" The shadowhunter word sounded awkward in his mouth- "Please direct future inquiries into my services through the Institute."

"But-"

"Goodbye." _I'm sorry._

Magnus stepped further away, ignoring Alec's acute distress, and waited for him to get up. It took a few minutes, but he finally did, each step out of the apartment leaving Magnus just a little colder.

It was ironic. He'd told Alec he couldn't see the future and yet- Dot had. And perhaps he'd known this could only end badly.

The door creaked shut, leaving him with only his thoughts for company.


End file.
